1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a receiver or listening device connectable with at least one apparatus adapted to at least output audio signals via at least one interface and provided with at least one ear piece accommodated in a housing and with one retaining strap for releasable attachment to the user's ear, the strap being disposed on the housing extending away therefrom and a portion of said strap, which is oriented back toward the housing, passing behind the ear in a region of the helix, the region of the strap passing behind the helix being provided with an end region abutting the back side of the ear when attached.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Such receivers are being used for example in connection with mobile phones or computers and are in most cases provided with a microphone. Such apparatuses are generally termed “headset” and are connectable to devices for in-and outputting audio signals such as mobile phones or computers. In cooperation with a mobile phone, they make it possible for the user to make calls without constantly using his hands. For this purpose, the headset is in most cases provided with a loudspeaker and a microphone and is electrically connected with the mobile phone via a cord for example. In computers, such above mentioned headsets are used for example in connection with what is termed speech recognition software which involves that, on the one side, speech is entered by a user into the computer via the microphone of the headset, the computer converting this speech in executable commands or in text and that, on the other side, sounds, spoken sentences, music and so on generated by the computer are outputted via the loudspeaker of the headset.
A great variety of different types of such headsets being designed and configured depending on the intended purpose of utilization are commercially available. Such headsets are widely used that consist of a loudspeaker only which is configured in such a manner that it is placed in the external ear in the region of the pinna or exterior auditory canal where it is quite well retained—in the same way as headphones for portable music players are being used. The headphone is connectable to at least one mobile phone by means of a cord via a corresponding interface, the microphone is carried by the cord and is located close to the user's mouth so that speech may be entered. This low-cost embodiment of a headset, which has therefore been widely used, has several disadvantages though. Many people think that it is extremely unhygienic to place the loudspeaker in the auditory canal or in the pinna of the ear so that a headset is generally used by one person only. Further, the headphone is only then well retained in the ear when it is introduced firmly and deeply into the pinna or the exterior auditory canal which increases the uncomfortable feeling of a foreign body being located in the ear.
In another known variant, the headset is held to the user's head by means of a strap that is connected at one end to a loudspeaker, said strap passing over the head and extending from one ear to the region of the second ear. An extension, which carries at its outer ends a microphone in proximity to the mouth, is disposed on the loudspeaker. Such headsets are widely used in connection with voice software for computers and are mainly utilized in telephone exchanges and directory enquiries centers in which the users wear the headsets continuously for a long time. For mobile use however, more specifically in hands-free operation of mobile phones for example, these realizations are suited for limited utilization only since they are unwieldy, quite heavy and difficult to stow after use.
A headset configured for specific use with mobile phones has been described in WO 95/15044. This document discloses a headset consisting of a loudspeaker and of a microphone disposed at one end of an extension which is fastened to a main part receiving the loudspeaker. The headset is provided with a U-shaped strap disposed on the main part. The U-shaped strap consists of two legs that are joined together by means of an upper joining piece. In the fastened condition, the joining piece of the headset rests on the ear, in the uppermost region thereof where it is attached to the head. For counterbalance and for a stable fixation at the ear, the headset is provided with a weight mounted at the end of that leg that is not connected to the housing, the other leg is connected to the main part by its lower end.
The headset is thus held to the user's ear by its own weight, an additional weight being disposed at the free leg in an effort to counterbalance the weight of the extension carrying the microphone and generally projecting in proximity to the mouth, or the leg being provided with a corresponding own weight. After a certain wearing period, the weight or load of the headset results in unpleasant sore places in the resting area of the joining piece between the two legs in the upper region of the ear, which is even further increased by the weight the one leg is to be provided with.
Furthermore, the headset presented is firmly and fittingly held to the ear only when the user is in an almost upright position, which is only given when the user is standing or sitting, though. Fast movements, by contrast, may easily cause the headset to slip out of place.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,052 A describes a combined headset-handset that is, on the one hand, fastenable to a user's ear, and that, on the other hand, is sized and configured in such a manner that it may also be used as a handset. The headset-handset has a housing that receives a loudspeaker. The housing is shaped to fit in the ear in the region of the auditory canal or of the pinna. For attachment to the ear, the headset is provided with a crossbar that is pressed against the back side of the ear, in that region in which the ear is attached to the head. To adapt to various ear sizes, the cross bar is slidably arranged relative to the housing, the cross bar being fixed in the desired position relative to the housing by means of a spring.
Besides the fact that, as it is used as a handset, this headset-handset is a quite large and heavy product, it has the further disadvantage that it is complicated to apply and fixate to the ear. As slidable parts and a spring for fixating the cross bar relative to the housing are being used, the headset disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,052 A is comparatively expensive to manufacture and is exposed to high wear so that it is prone to maintenance. For a good fixation of the headset to the ear it is furthermore necessary to introduce the housing accommodating the loudspeaker quite firmly into the ear in the region of the auditory canal or of the pinna and to press firmly the cross bar against the back side of the ear, which as a rule leads to sore places in the ear regions mentioned, more specifically after a long wearing time.